Milton Keynes pensioner convicted of murder in oldest double jeopardy case
Dennis McGrory was 28 when he was initially cleared of murder
A pensioner from Milton Keynes has been found guilty of the rape and murder of a teenager nearly 50 years ago in the oldest double jeopardy case in England and Wales.
Dennis McGrory was 28 when he sexually assaulted, stabbed and strangled 15-year-old Jacqui Montgomery in her home in Islington, North London, in 1975.
The next year, he was tried on a circumstantial case and cleared of murder on the directions of a judge.
Decades later, swabs from Ms Montgomery produced a one-in-a-billion DNA match decades later.
McGrory's case was referred to the Court of Appeal and sent for a fresh trial at the Old Bailey following a 2003 change in the law on double jeopardy.
Now in his 70s, the pensioner appeared for his retrial by video link and was found guilty of rape and murder.
The jury at Huntingdon Crown Court deliberated on Monday for just over an hour to find McGrory guilty on both charges against him.
Jurors were told McGrory had been "wild with rage" when he killed Jacqui as he tried to track down his ex-partner Josie Montgomery, who was the victim's aunt.
The defendant was remanded into custody to be sentenced on January 13.
Prosecutor Sarah Przybylska had said: "No doubt furious with rage and wanting to attack Josie, the defendant took out his anger on the next best thing, Jacqui Montgomery, both raping and murdering her."
During the attack, he ripped out a page of the teenager's diary with her aunt's address on it.
Jacqui's body was found by her father, Robert Montgomery, lying on the floor of their living room in Offord Road in the early hours of June 2 1975.